During the manufacturing of a paper web, the moving web, such as one that may be used as the substrate for a paper towel or tissue towel, is transported at very high velocities. In many instances, the web is transported without support and this may result in the web ‘fluttering’ or otherwise losing control.
Those of skill in the art may appreciate that flutter is undesirable because flutter is thought to be a contributing cause of tearing that may occur in the paper web. Further, flutter in the web often forces producers to reduce the velocity at which the paper web is transported, causing decreases in efficiency and incurring additional costs.
One method available in the prior art to address the problem of sheet flutter is through the use of stabilizing devices, such as a foil. The foils described in the prior art may be used either in converting processes/apparatus or in papermaking processes/apparatus. The foil may be used to act as a guide for the traveling web in order to reduce or eliminate flutter. However, a problem that those of skill in the art will appreciate exists with many of the prior art foils is that the foil, while stabilizing the web, may cause drag on the surface of the web. Drag may be detrimental to a traveling paper web, especially a relatively light paper web, because it is thought that drag may cause tearing or other mechanical failures in the paper web. In some instances, the velocity of a paper web in a papermaking operation may require special design considerations due to the relatively high velocity that a paper web in the paper making operation.
As a result, there exists the need for a web stabilizing device that exerts a relatively low amount of drag on a moving paper web. It was surprisingly discovered that by providing a plurality of discrete features in the surface of a foil, the amount of drag caused by the foil was reduced relative to the drag caused by a foil of the prior art.